It started sprinkling around 5:00 a.m. We woke up early to beat it and get to town before noon. We left camp just after 7:00. There were lots of flat-ish uphills today, which was great for my legs. It rained lightly off and on and we were sweating, which made the decision of whether or not to wear a rain jacket difficult. It's such a pain to keep stopping, taking off your pack, and adding or removing layers. We passed a stone that said "Here lies Norovirus 2013." There was a huge outbreak of the stomach bug on the AT last year. Hikers share many things including food and drinks, bathrooms, sleeping areas, etc. and our hygiene is less than ideal. You can imagine how stuff could spread quickly out here, especially at shelters and hostels. As I write this post, there's Noro going around again. I had it earlier this year and am hoping not to catch it again. Time will tell. So far, no one I know has gotten sick. I think the outbreak is mainly behind us but we'll see what happens when everyone comes back together for Trail Days in mid-May.
We snacked at No Business Shelter. It's an unimpressive shelter with an ironic name. It's one of the first shelters since the Smokies that doesn't have a privy. We met an ex-military guy there named Chicken Hawk. He's from Georgia and was taking some time off to visit his wife.
I ended up jogging down most of the downhills today. I'm feeling much better! I've been weaning myself off my brace and it seems to be really helping. I have an impressive knee brace tan line though. We resupplied at Uncle Johnny's hostel at the edge of town. I bought more Aqua Mira. I'm so glad I opted to treat my water with Aqua Mira instead of a filter. I appreciated my friends letting me borrow their Sawyer Squeeze filters, but I couldn't stand them. Way too much time and effort involved, especially on the Sawyer Squeeze Mini. It felt like it took forever to get water out of that thing. I'll stick with my Aqua Mira until the water gets too gross, then maybe I'll switch to the original Sawyer Squeeze temporarily. I also resupplied on fuel, got more TP, and bought some 40 cent Snickers bars (Limit 2).
Outside the hostel, I got a chance to call the fam! They were just returning from a trip to Florida. Jealous! Soon, our shuttle showed up and took us to the Super 8. We exploded our packs (spread our wet, dirty gear all over the room), then walked into town to run errands. Erwin is a big town to try to get around on foot! As soon as we left the hotel we got stuck behind a freight train and had to wait several minutes for it to cross the road into town. We walked for quite a while to get to the Mexican food restaurant at the far end of town. It was worth it though! Cheese enchiladas and a Dos XX amber. Felt a bit like home. I laughed that the menu had descriptions and pronunciation guides for the dishes. I'm not in Texas anymore!
We resupplied at the Dollar General. It was a good one! Also stopped by the laundromat to wash our things. Wearing a rain suit during laundry time is kind of uncomfortable but having clean clothes is worth it! I also bought some hair dye and shave gel at Walgreens. Even though I'm out in the woods I still like to be a little girly sometimes. I feel like a new woman now! For the time being at least...
We ordered Pizza Hut delivery to our room so I'm stuffed now. We're just chilling watching movies on the TV. It's been a good day! Time to sleep now.
Best Thing: Beautiful views and legs that are improving.
Looking Forward To: Getting back on the trail tomorrow.
Dying your hair while hiking that impressive journey.
ReplyDeleteAlmost died laughing.
Miss you chica!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1